Actor Bill Nighy is not slowing down any time soon, just like his 'Living' character

English actor Bill Nighy has been thinking a lot about procrastination thanks to his role in "Living."

In the film, Nighy plays Mr. Williams, the head of a bureaucratic department in a post-World War II England who is quite good at pushing papers, but not necessarily making change happen. When he learns that he only has months left to live, he realizes that he hasn’t actually been living, and decides to make the most of the time he has left.

Mr. Williams' job encourages procrastination on a national scale, as seen with a group of women pushing for the construction of a new playground who are constantly transferred from one department to another because no one wants to deal with the hassle. Nighy is not a procrastinator in terms of taking care of day-to-day chores or responsibilities, he recently told The Desert Sun, because he's "greedy for time" and wants to "just kick back and relax" as much as he can. But even though his decades-long career has given him opportunities one could only dream of, there's still one task that's been left undone.

"You could look at my acting career as one great giant exercise in displacement activity because originally, like every second child who'd ever read a book, I wanted to be a writer. I didn't have the courage or focus or determination or inspiration to be a writer, and then somebody said 'why don't you go to drama school,' and I went to drama school," Nighy said. "That's the great procrastination. I've never put pen to paper."

A novel may still be possible, and certainly many more on-screen appearances, as the BAFTA Award winner is not slowing down anytime soon. With his latest film, Nighy has been riding quite a wave, racking up several Best Actor nominations from awards bodies such as the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Association. The actor will also receive the International Star Award, Actor, at the Palm Springs International Film Awards on Jan. 5.

To make his first time in the desert even more special, a screening of "Living" followed by a conversation with Nighy will take place as part of the Palm Springs International Film Festival's Talking Pictures series. The screening is scheduled for 11 a.m. Jan. 6 at the Palm Springs Art Museum's Annenberg Theater.

Nighy said he's looking forward to his first Palm Springs outing after hearing "great things" about the area. More so, he enjoys speaking with audiences about the film and hearing their connections to it.

"I'm very, very happy that the film has been so well regarded and well received," Nighy said. "You hope when you're making it that you're involved in something important, but nothing prepared any of us for the reception the film has been given. It's marvelous, it's completely wonderful."

"Living," directed by Oliver Hermanus from a screenplay by Nobel Prize laureate Kazuo Ishiguro, is an adaption of the 1952 Japanese film "Ikiru" directed by Akira Kurosawa. Nighy did not see the Japanese film prior to diving into the role, but Ishiguro suggested the film to the actor one evening over dinner with producer Stephen Woolley.

Ishiguro moved to England from Japan when he was 5 and saw "Ikiru" when he was 12, which made an impact on his life and eventual career. Nighy said the writer wanted to marry the original film with the concept of "Englishness," which refers to a complex system of manners and modest presentation of oneself.

"You live not troubling your fellow human beings with any of your deeper emotions, and there have been parallels drawn between the English system of manners and Japanese system of manners," Nighy said. "(Englishness) involves suppression and restriction, but I also find it funny because it's barmy, it's bonkers. In the extreme form, you apologize for dying, that kind of thing."

It can be so strict that the Englishman quipped, "Human beings seem to find more and more elaborate ways of making sure that no one has a good time."

Once the actor saw "Ikiru" himself and started work on "Living," he saw the Englishness come through, which made the film start apart from the original. Mr. Williams sticks to his routine and is surrounded by many other bowler-hatted gentlemen in his life. When it comes to his work and personal life, he's been doing the same thing for a long time that he seemingly has forgotten how to let loose and have fun every once in a while. When he receives a terminal diagnosis, he decides to be an uncharacteristic version of him. He skips out on work to get drunk at a pub with an author, and eats lunch and goes to the movies with assistant Margaret (Aimee Lou Wood). Everyone around him is shocked to see this kind of behavior, but audiences can't help but root for him.

Nighy said many people might find themselves in a similar position, where they've let life pass them by without realizing it, because they're too fearful of change or trying something new.

"Especially when you get to my age, you look at the clock, you think, 'Come on, let's get serious,'" the 73-year-old actor said.

Even though his character receives tragic news, the film has had an uplifting effect on people, Nighy said. Audience members have told him their lives will never be the same after seeing the film, and that it has inspired them to do more in their life before it's too late.

"People seem to be galvanized by it, they want to talk about it," he said. "They come out of the cinema and they want to get things done."

In his personal life, Nighy has started the early stages of generating his own list of things he has never done before. That bucket list does not have extreme activities, such as jumping out of a plane or bungee jumping, on it, he said. Instead, it's mostly to do with books, wandering about looking at paintings, drinking coffee and, like many other Englishmen, watching a lot of football from around the world.

His illustrious acting career has also given him the chance to play different characters, including a rock 'n' roll legend in "Love Actually" and the feared, monstrous-looking sailor Davy Jones in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films. One role he'd like to dig more into is a detective or spy, he said, which he played previously in The Worricker trilogy ("Page Eight," "Turks & Caicos" and "Salting the Battlefield").

"I'd like to play a detective, a relatively straight role, but not entirely straight, I think it needs humor in there. But a little bit heroic, someone who could still a throw punch," Nighy said. "Or I'll get some younger man wearing a wig to throw a punch."

Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com or on Twitter @ema_sasic.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: 'Living' star Bill Nighy on bucket list, Palm Springs film festival